THE CITY REBORN FROM THE ASHES OF AMERICA'S MOST DISASTROUS FOREST FIRE

From our readers

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter in response to Tom Lunds letter to the editor last week. I hope to inform not only Tom but other individuals who read his letter what took place.

In your letter you stated you want someone to step up and take responsibility for the mistakes of the downtown beautification project. There were no mistakes in the project but the process was much slower and out of our control. I will take full responsibility for everything I do with the downtown project, starting with receiving the $766,700 grant, because I am the one who wrote it and Mike Behnke did the technology portion.

Our downtown was desperately in need of renovations and many of the sidewalks in front of the businesses did not meet code and were becoming a safety issue. Through this grant all sidewalks in front of businesses are going to be replaced at NO COST to the businesses. This is one of the reasons the council liked this grant is that it would help the businesses, beautification for residents and visitors to our city. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you but I feel this is worth waiting for, dont you?

Had you attended the Downtown Project meetings you would have had a better understanding of the progress of events. I will have a complete timeline of events and dates for you at city hall.

I will however do my best to give you a short version here on the timeline of events. We were awarded the grant on April 13, 2011. We interviewed and selected an engineering firm on June 11, 2011. We held a project kickoff meeting for businesses and the public seeking likes and dislikes on the proposed project on Dec. 12, 2011, and on Jan. 21, 2012 we were notified we needed to have a Historical Survey. We did not receive approval from the government on the Historical Survey till July 3, 2012. Yes, almost 6 months! This was a very long process and a frustrating one for everyone involved.

Final plans and specs were submitted on Aug. 31, 2012. We received Federal Authorization on Sept. 27, 2012 to move forward with the project. The ad went in the paper for the project on Oct. 4, 2012 and we opened the bids on Oct. 25. Your comment that the bids for the project seem to have got lost or not signed properly was not justified, seeing we just opened the bids on Oct. 25, 2012.

We could have elected to move forward with this project but we wanted it done right and not hurried due to the weather, so the decision was made to wait till next year. You also stated the bridge took a month longer than reported. We had no control over the length of time that it took Lunda Construction to build the bridge. We too were waiting for the completion of the bridge as we couldnt start the Riverfront Project till they moved their equipment off.

We received funding for this park three years ago. We postponed the project knowing it would be disturbed with the bridge replacement. I do agree with you that the beautification project along Oconto Ave. took a long time. In the TE Grant I put in for stamped concrete but was outvoted for the brick.

The construction company came in and poured the sidewalks. I am not sure of the size opening, but they were to leave a set distance in the sidewalk for the bricks to be placed in. The brick layers proceeded to put the brick in a rough, uneven opening, which added to their work time. The brick layers should have been told from the start to wait as we had the construction company redo a great deal of the sidewalks we werent happy with, thus making the brick layers redo their work.

On behalf of the Streets & Drainage Committee, made up of myself, Mary Lock and Fred Meintz, we have put a lot of time and effort into this project for the betterment of the city. Id also like to thank George Cowell, our city engineer, for all his hard work this year. The city has had a lot of projects going on and he has done a tremendous job staying on top of everything.

I hope this information gives you a better understanding of the development of the project. In the future if I can be of assistance in answering any of your questions, please do not hesitate to call me.

Cathi Malke,

Chairman Streets & Drainage

Letter to Editor:

Farewell, Pastor Hazelo

(Who died Oct. 26, 2012)

To a loving, caring Pastor,

Faithful, humble, kind and true.

I want to bid a fond farewell,

And say my last thank you.

Through every kind of weather,

Through the years that Ive known you.

You were a faithful, caring Pastor,

Sharing tears and laughter too.

No matter what the weather,

I could always count on you.

When things were bright and cheerful,

You were happy for me too.

But when my days were dreary

And I was filled with deep despair,

I dont know how you knew it,

But you were always there,

To shed a tear, to say a prayer,

To hold my hand need be.

Not proudly or unhumbly,

We always prayed upon our knees.

So though Ive written many poems

For you throughout the years,

This one is really hard for me,

I have to fight back tears.

So thank you and God bless you,

In the land of pure delight.

You were like a special brother to me,

And I must say good night.

So as you kneel before Christ now,

May you receive a great reward.

For being such a good and faithful servant,

Who always loved and served the Lord.

By Joyce Bedora of Krakow,

Former Peshtigo Resident

Letter to the Editor:

This is just a friendly reminder to those individuals who are eligible to vote, to please go VOTE on November 6, 2012.